Five foreigners, convicted of murder and robbery, have been executed in Saudi Arabia as the rate of capital punishment surges in the kingdom. Saudi Interior Ministry announced in a statement on Monday that the five foreign nationals, convicted of killing an Indian guard and stealing money from a safe, were beheaded in the Red Sea city of Jeddah earlier in the day. The statement, which was carried by the Saudi Press Agency, identified the executed as Khaled Fetini and Ibrahim Nasser from Yemen, Hassan Omar from Chad, Salem Idriss from Eritrea and Abdel Wahhab Abdel Maeen from Sudan.

Djibouti on Sunday accused neighboring Eritrea of using mercenaries to destabilizing the situation in the country. “Armed mercenaries serving the Eritrean government are terrorizing civilians in northern Djibouti on the border with Eritrea,” Interior Minister Hassan Omar Mohamed said in a statement. He accused these “mercenaries” of stealing food from Djiboutian civilians at gunpoint and blocking roads to prevent medical and humanitarian supplies from reaching the affected areas. Mohamed went on to accuse the militants of kidnapping young Bedouins in northern Djibouti and forcibly taking them to Eritrea where they would be recruited against their country.

A boat carrying migrants trying to reach Europe has capsized in the Mediterranean near the coast of Egypt, killing three people. Meanwhile, more than 400 others have been rescued from vessels off Libya.Three people drowned and 31 were rescued after a trawler bound for Europe capsized near the Egyptian city of Idku on Saturday, local media reported. The passengers, believed to be from Syria, Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt, were later arrested by coastguards.

COMMENT Horror has been expressed at the latest migrant drowning catastrophe in the Mediterranean. Little has been said, however, about Eritrea. But 22% of all people entering Italy by boat in 2014 were from the former Italian country, according to the United Nations refugee agency. After Syrians, they are the second-most common nationality to undertake these journeys. Many who died last week were from there. So why is it so rarely discussed? The answer is essentially the problem. Eritrea is without Western allies and far away. It is also in the grip of a highly repressive regime. This week, it was named the most censored country in the world by the Committee to Protect Journalists, beating North Korea, which is in second place. Reporters without Borders has called it the world’s most dangerous country for journalists. Nobody talks about Eritrea because nobody (that is, Westerners) goes there. In 2009, I travelled there undercover with cameraman Scott Corben. We remain the only independent journalists to have visited the country in more than 10 years.

Horror has been expressed at the latest catastrophe in the Mediterranean. Little has been said, however, about Eritrea. Yet 22% of all people entering Italy by boat in 2014 were from Eritrea, according to the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR. After Syrians, they are the second most common nationality to undertake these journeys. Many who died this week were from the former Italian colony. So why is it so rarely discussed? The answer is essentially the problem. Eritrea is without western allies and far away. It is also in the grip of a highly repressive regime. This week, it was named the most censored country in the world by the Committee to Protect Journalists, beating North Korea, which is in second place. Reporters without Borders has called it the world’s most dangerous country for journalists.

Eritrea is the world's most censored country according to a new list released by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Thousands of Eritreans flee to Europe to escape torture and arbitrary arrests.Mohammed Idris speaks softly as he vividly recalls his journey a year ago. It took him from Eritrea to Europe. "In Libya, it was very hard. I even had to spend a month in prison," says the Eritrean. Then he ventured the crossing to Europe. "We boarded a boat and went across the Mediterranean to Italy." Unlike many others, Mohammed Idris made it to Germany. Each year, thousands of Eritreans flee the Horn of Africa nation. According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, over 300,000 Eritreans fled the nation of 6.5 million inhabitants last year. It's not just the men, but also many women and their children who risk everything to take the perilous journey across the desert and into the Mediterranean. "The majority of them are very young," Mussie Zerai, a Catholic priest who fled to Italy from Eritrea more than 20 years ago, told DW in an interview.

Like many of her fellow Eritrean refugees, Sofia, who managed to escape northwards to Cairo, has a very simple reason for fleeing her homeland. “In Eritrea you’re even afraid to talk to your family,” she says. “The person next to me [in a cafe] could be a spy, and they are looking at what you are doing. People disappear every day.” One day, a friend made the innocent mistake of striking up a conversation with a man in a cafe who later turned out to be from the Libyan embassy. “They were just chatting. And they said she was a spy passing information to him. We don’t know what happened to her. She is in jail till now. One day they told us she was in hospital with high blood pressure but we were so afraid that we didn’t go because we feared they might arrest us too.”

10. EritreaCorruption score: 18Power structure: Single-Party Presidential DemocracyEritrea is a new entrant onto the list this year, having vaulted from number 25 to number 10 in 2014. Many people may have never even heard of Eritrea, let alone be aware of the corruption issues the country faces. Eritrea is located in Africa, bordering the Red Sea directly across from Saudi Arabia, bordering Djibouti to the south and Sudan to the north. Eritrea is a small and relatively poor country, with a GDP of only $3.44 billion, and a population of 6.3 million. The situation in Eritrea is clearly in flux. After years of relative self-imposed isolation, Eritrea has begun opening its borders to foreign business and investment, along with privatizing state-owned assets. That has allowed for some government officials, and others in power, to take advantage of their positions for personal profit. With undeveloped legal, economic, and political framework, the country has had a lot of trouble finding a stable foothold in the international community.Until Eritrea can sort out its internal problems, it’s likely that the country’s numerous issues will continue. Due to rule by a single party — despite being a democracy — a suitable minority party that can successfully challenge for power is likely what is needed. The economy is expected to continue to stagnate, and the prospect of war in the region spilling over into the country’s borders are also concerns for foreign investors.